You are fired

CHAPTER 41: YOU ARE FIRED.

RACHEL'S POV

  "What the hell are you even insinuating?" I shout at Sandra as I can not seem to control my anger anymore.

  "What?" she looks at me innocently as if she isn't the one brewing the storm.

   "I am just saying the truth."

   "Do you know you can get into trouble for saying all of these if you don't have any evidence to back it up?" Beatrice reminds her.

  "Why should I provide evidence when she can deny it all with her life and her family's? More like swearing. I believe in the active power of swearing so she should swear that she hasn't slept with the boss once. Let her do so."

I am on the verge of crying as I watch Sandra continue to belittle my effort and insult me. She has never come for me in a full-blow proportion before. Of course, I knew she didn't like me from the start that I won the best hardworking staff with her going second, but still, she has always maintained her lane, and so have I.

I can't even open my mouth to defend myself because of the weight of the words and how stressed I am already.

   "How can that happen if they haven't been together?"

   "You are only spreading nonsense because you are jealous of her."

  "Well, she is sharing a room with the boss right now. Does any of you know that?" she chirps in, and everyone goes quiet.

  "That's what I thought. She is sharing a room with the boss right now. They both sleep in the same room and on the same bed."

  "There was a mix-up with the room! That was how I landed there! I didn't know that the room belonged to Mr Noah."

She laughs in disbelief, "Let's assume that any of us will believe that; why didn't you leave?"

   "I tried calling Beatrice to inform her about the situation, but she didn't pick up, and when I got to the front desk, I was told that there was nothing that they could do for me at that moment, and, every other room had been booked. They told me to manage with the room given to me pending the time that they would find a vacant one so I had no choice but to go back and plead with the boss to let me stay."

   "So after a few days, there was still no vacancy in other rooms for you to move into? Or have you just decided not to leave anymore?"

Her questions keep poking this kind of doubt, and I know it. Just as I am about to respond, Noah steps in.

  "What's going on here? What is with the commotion?" he asks as he enters calmly with both hands inside his pockets. I sniff as I try to hide my face and wipe my tears. Everyone bows their heads to greet him.

He turns to Beatrice, "Beatrice, what is happening?"

She hesitates before responding, "Sandra brought an allegation against Rachel by saying that she is climbing the ladder of success by sleeping with..." she gulps and looks at everyone briefly at first, "...you."

Noah exhales and taps his feet against the tiled floor. He doesn't say anything as he watches us carefully for a while. Sandra doesn't meet his gaze because her head is lowered. I wonder if she is regretting her actions or just worried that she got caught.

Noah has still not said anything for three minutes but no one dares to say a word.

   "Beatrice, first of all, I am disappointed in you. You were chosen for a reason to head the kitchen staff. This was because I saw how wise you were alongside your leadership qualities and also because of the good words that someone put in for you. As a leader, you are meant to coordinate the space given to you and also to ensure that order and cooperation are going on both publicly and privately. A fellow staff opens her mouth to start insulting another fellow staff yet you are calm." he pauses. There is no change in his physical appearance. 

Only his tone gets stricter by the minute.

   "You continue to watch the whole situation escalate and it seems like you're enjoying it because you are an accomplice to the issue, right?"

Beatrice shakes her head frantically to deny it. "No, I am not accomplice, Mr Noah, I swear. Please trust me."

   "If you aren't then why are you so calm? Why are you so calm about the situation?"

Beatrice can't even defend herself. She is tongue-tied too. 

   "And you," he faces Sandra.

  "You were speaking with so much confidence about what must have happened inside the room. I believe that it must be because you have solid evidence to back up whatever it is that you have said, right?"

Sandra doesn't respond and only shakes her head.

  "No, you must do. Your confidence was high when I heard you speak so you must bring out the evidence in the next ten minutes. If you don't, you are fired! Your time starts now." he orders her and I notice how anxious Sandra has become. She falls to her knees and begins to plead profusely.

   "I apologize for saying such words. I was just playing around. I didn't mean to say so. Please forgive me. I have no evidence whatsoever."

   "Eight minutes left," he says coldly after he brings out his hand from his pocket to look at his wristwatch. Sandra turns me to and begins to plead.

   "I am sorry, Rachel. I am so sorry. I won't say those words to you again. Please, I don't want to be fired."

   "Five minutes left."

   "As for you all, this is a public space yet you all decide to create some kind of scene when you know how much I care about my reputation, huh? This is an event where any little thing that we do as a company can get easily noticed and get labeled on us, but you decide to just enjoy the gossip. For you all that are present, you won't be receiving your bonus for this month. And as for you, Beatrice, your position as the kitchen head is temporarily over for a month. You need to receive the required training to move on. I don't want an unhealthy environment for my employees simply because their leader wants to enjoy a little gossip while watching her fellow members get torn out. The order for Beatrice takes effect immediately after we are back to the hotel."

My heart skips a beat.

  "Time's up. Sandra, you are fired. If possible, leave as early as you can tomorrow and drop everything that doesn't belong to you as you no longer identify as a staff in my hotel. Before everyone leaves, let me make this announcement that I stopped Rachel from leaving as the reason was valid enough. Moreover, it is a room that I hardly stay in because I am busy ensuring that everything goes well. You can continue to think about what you want to think about, but Rachel didn't do such dirty things to attain the success that she has. Whatever has happened now only shows how pretentious y'all are and how hypocrisy lives within you. I am disappointed that you all are treating each other this way. My orders are given. Dismiss." 

I notice the fall on everyone's faces as they leave one after the other until only Noah and I are left. I look at him, a lot of thoughts swirling in my mind. 

I am very pleased that he came to my rescue but isn't this too much on everyone when the main culprit is Sandra?

He turns around and leaves me standing there. I sob a little more, and when I have finally gotten a hang of myself, I decide to leave for my room, too.